After spirited discussion, the Portsmouth Town Council this evening voted to freeze discretionary funding for the year and set a goal for a 5% reduction in next year's budget, town-wide. The measures, introduced by recently elected Councilor Jeff Plumb, faced some tough questions from the two remaining Democrats on the Council, but with minor modifications both passed unanimously (6-0, since Councilor Karen Gleason was absent again.)

"We are not the first community to have to do this because of these economic times," said Plumb, introducing the measures. "It's vital that we take control of our spending."

On the first motion, Councilor Dennis Canario asked for clarification on what constituted discretionary spending, and Town Administrator Bob Driscoll admitted there wasn't much.

"There's nothing significant," said Driscoll. "We can't close our hockey rink or cut the hours of our museum."

Canario acknowledged the lack of frills. "In Portsmouth, we've been very frugal with the way we spend our money," he said, but pressed further. "Are there things in here?"

Driscoll noted that the majority of the town budget goes to public safety. For general administration, he said, "We have one employee for every 390 residents, state-wide, the average is one for every 222. That speaks to a pretty lean operation. It's tough to take meat off a skeleton, and sometimes it feels like what we're doing."

Councilor Plumb suggested a review of purchasing contracts to see if consolidating vendors could save money.

Driscoll said that there might be savings available in the town IT budget by deferring purchases there, and had worked up a list of similar items that the Council did not vote on tonight, but promised to take up at a future meeting.

As an indication of how tight the budget is, one measure being considered is turning off every other street light. "I've asked the Police Department to look at all the street lights in town," said Driscoll. "To see if there are ones we can turn off."

The Council voted unanimously to freeze such discretionary spending. Then they took up Plumb's motion to ask all town departments to reduce their next-year budget by 5%.

Councilor Keith Hamilton stressed the need for sending an urgent directive to department heads. "We're seeing foreclosures in town, we're going to lose tax revenue. We need to look at saving money."

Driscoll agreed in principle but urged the Council to make it a goal, rather than a hard cut, and to impose it across the town budget, rather than on individual departments. Many of the town departments, he said, "are sized at minimal level. What we need to do is review with the council, and the departments are prepared to do that."

Councilor Jim Seveney asked the Council to consider specific choices rather than arbitrary cuts. "It's not numbers. We're talking about services. A five percent across the board cut — what does that mean? I don't know what the implications really are. We were put in this position to hear what the departments have to say, to explain in dollars how those need to be met, and we make the decisions. Numbers are not meaningful."

But Plumb stuck to his position. "Welcome to an emergency, folks. I believe the people elected this Council to move some things along. For us to get through this as a community, we're going to have to tighten our belts. We're sending a message. We want to cut spending that's gone up every year."

Council President Pete McIntyre helped find a middle way, suggesting that the language could be more of a goal. "Town administrators are being told that this Council will limit spending by 5% if possible," he suggested. And Councilor Huck Little added the recommendation that two budgets should be prepared, one as usual, and one with the 5% cut.

"Come in with two budgets," said Little. "One what they need to have, one with a 5% cut. That way, we can make up our minds."

"That's possible," said Driscoll. "We welcome the challenge. You've got a good group of managers who know how to save a buck."

Once these changes were made, the measure seemed to have support from the Council. Plumb was still less than happy with the language, "For me," he said, "The word GOAL is capitalized in bold," but he amended his motion and it passed unanimously.

In other business, there was a protracted discussion about combining some of the Town's many standing committees, with sniping from PCC, Inc. President Larry Fitzmorris, who complained that he couldn't find up-to-date listings on the Town's web site. Cheshire Kathy Melvin, in what appeared to be a slap at the PRA and EDC, argued for a stronger vision from the Council, even at the expense of taxpayer participation. "Citizen input is vital, but more vital is a Council that is knowledgeable about where Portsmouth is going to be in 20 years." Though they made no specific decision, McIntyre promised a review. "We're not saying we're going to get rid of any. It's something we're going to look at."

The Council also appointed members to serve as liaisons or members of several committees, including Hamilton, who will now serve on the school Facilities Committee, and McIntyre, who was "volunteered" by Little as the liaison to the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission. Seeing no response to McIntyre's call for anyone interested in the role, Little said, "Mr. Chair, I see no reason you couldn't serve." Amid good-natured laughter, McIntyre replied, "At least you didn't volunteer me for arts and culture."